The Verdict
Firewall distros
When it comes to firewalls, the stakes are high. One incorrect configuration or failed update could spell disaster for your home or office network. Your choice will partly be informed based on your experience. Power users may be comfortable manually inputting firewall rules and port configurations into Alpine’s Awall tool, but beginners will have a much easier setup with distros like IPFire, which takes you step by step through its colourful wizard and web interface.
Users with deep pockets might also benefit from the apps available in ClearOS’s marketplace, which has easily installable add-ons for network monitoring, preventing threats and filtering out certain websites. This makes it perfect for a business setup, provided you’re happy to pay the subscription fees.